twenty twelve

so much has happened this year .. it's weird to think it will all start over once more. i feel the older i get, the faster time seems to pass. looking back i think there were four things i did most this year: writing, photography, watching movies, and listening to music .. incredibly shocking, i know.

this year more than the others i found that writing from my heart, writing with truth, was more comforting than creating from my imagination. even if it was painful, it was honest. sometimes i feel that writing my emotions within a made up story help me to understand them more. i think as a writer it is the unknown that creates the story and the familiar that fuels it. for me, i base my writing on events i know nothing about and things i've never experienced. but the emotions and the feelings, those are the things i know and what i fill the unreal with. it is the raw and brutally honest emotions and truths that make a story what it is. it's funny how unpleasant honest writing can be sometimes, but it is so incredibly necessary.

here are some of the things i remember most in pictures from this past year:
the anniversary of my grandmother's death; i was reminded how much she meant to me and how much i miss her-

italy and its beauty-

rome

florence

venice

assisi

rome

burano

venice

coldplay, best night of my life-

"we'll be glowing in the dark"

"you don't know how lovely you are"

this is my obsession

"you know i love you so"

wolf gang, i saw them four times in concert .. yes, i am in love-

mylo xyloto tour

htown

htown

atx

the pretty views on the road-

the city never sleeps at night

took a car downtown where the lost boys meet

the peace and solitude before the world wakes up

sunlight opened up my eyes

all the colors of the rainbow fell in my eyes

i rubbed against the paramount gate for good luck .. cross yo fingers people-

the royal concept in concert .. they were so awesome-

video shooting .. lots of it-

                  

            

           

             

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2012 was a great year for movies. here were my favorites:
-the dark knight rises- christopher nolan, genius man
-the hobbit- two and a half hours of pure excitement
                          "home is behind you. the world is ahead"
-lincoln- three words, daniel day lewis
-les miserables- so emotional, so colorful, so great
-life of pi- one of the prettiest films i've ever looked at
                          "in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go"
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happy new year, may this next year be even more wonderful than the last
xx

recent things

the street where i live

horizon .. sunrise

i got myself a vintage polaroid and i am in love with it

hope everyone had a merry christmas 

xx

filming and music listening

hello lovelies,
it is finally cold outside and i am enjoying the pleasure of wearing my winter shoes and scarves. and christmas is right around the corner which means more family hanging and holiday picture taking .. yay! this past week i did a video shoot with some cool cats (aka my friends). it was so much fun. it involved some wandering through the woods, face painting, and confetti craziness. i am uploading the video as we speak and it is taking freaking forever, but until then check out the pictures on my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandaleemott/
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last week my friends and i watched taylor swift's "speak now" concert dvd. it seemed more like a broadway show than a concert. regardless, it was very entertaining and we got in a good workout dancing and imitating tswift's choreography. concert videos are some of my favorite things to watch. and some of my favorite musicians have some of the coolest concert music videos:

30 seconds to mars' video for "closer to the edge" is my all time favorite concert video. there a lot of videos of this sort, but this one is so unique and incredibly fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLqHDhF-O28
there music video for "kings and queens" is awesome as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMrlHHVx8A

wolf gang's "back to back" tour video is incredible. it's just .. just watch it. it will leave you speechless:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tD34hPG1-c

robyn's video for "hang with me" is so fun to watch. i love seeing the candidness of an artist, it makes them seem more normal possibly? oh and she has the coolest dance moves around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3a2qoyONVA

swedish house mafia's "don't you worry child" video makes me want to fist pump like one of them jersey shore folk. i am currently trying to get tickets to one of their upcoming concerts, my fingers are super, extra crossed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6smkh6c-0
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saw this picture on pinterest. this is me, on a daily basis:

happy tuesday everyone, hope the rest of your week is lovely.

xx

what feelings sound like

i am suddenly taken back to mid-october. it is a saturday morning and the sun has just risen. i am driving through my home town with my dad, taking in his wise thoughts and peaceful presence. we were on the topic of hardships in life, one of many deep conversations we enjoy sharing. and as i watched the sun radiate through the branches of the trees alined along the road, my father voiced a thought that has stuck in me like no other idea. almost as a concluding reflection he spoke over the music and said, "life can be hard sometimes. that's why music is so good". .. maybe it is because i love music so much that i appreciated what he had said. but then i really thought about it. music is good when we can relate, when we can feel something. music is good when the lyrics speak to us, when the words are so chillingly accountable we get goosebumps. that's what he meant. music is so good because when life gets hard, we turn on that one song and we finally feel understood. maybe we don't necessarily find the answers in music, but i think we find peace. listening to words, swearing they were written for us, seem to help calm the troubled emotions. and for those two and a half minutes or however long it may be, music is what makes us feel whole again. music is what makes us feel limitless and never-ending, taking away our confined state of mind. music is what triggers the surplus of emotions. music is what feelings sound like.
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since i'm on the subject of music, here are some of my favorite musicians/bands at the moment :
one: coldplay .. there are no words to describe how much i love coldplay. their music is the soundtrack to my life. jk jk .. but really. i saw them this past summer in concert. i swear it changed my life. oh and chris martin has the best dance moves.

two: wold gang .. i saw this band open for coldplay and they were so amazing. i also had the pleasure of seeing them on their headline tour. besides being some of the nicest guys, their music is incredible. very dreamy and very fun.

three: ellie goulding .. first of all i wish i could rock that semi-buzz hair-do thing that she has/had. i first came across ellie when i was in israel. her music video for "lights" was one of the only english videos on the television. i am in love with her sound.

four: the royal concept .. these lovely swedes opened for wolf gang on their past tour. and they sure do know how to put on a good performance. they have the coolest sound.

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i just realized none of these are american musicians .. i'm american .. awkward.

xx

my heart is happy

i always find myself missing home more when i have to leave it. don't get me wrong, i love living on my own and figuring things out my own way. because finding our true selves is the most important part of life i think. and it is found when we are young and adventurous, and with eyes full of stars. it is always encouraging to travel home and know that my family supports the desires i have for my life. during this thanksgiving i was reminded of how lucky i am to have people in my life who know me deeply and make my heart immensely happy. i am grateful for my father, whose faith and hope has given me a new sense of reason. his humble and optimistic nature has inspired every good thing i have every written. i am grateful for my mother because her constant love and endless encouragement goes beyond anything i could ever fathom. her beauty and kindness overcomes any sight and feeling i've ever known. if there is any substantial purpose to why i have never given up on the things i love, my parents are the reason. i am thankful that they enrich my soul with encouraging dreams but keep my mind in tune with the reality of things. i am also grateful for my siblings, who all have given me a reason to smile even in my darkest moments. it is such a joy to have spent a few days with them. my favorite moment this past week was two nights ago. we all went for a walk around the neighborhood and looked at the stars. it was so incredibly peaceful. i was happy to have spent that certain moment with them. it is so comforting to know that i always have people to go to when i am lost. and it wasn't until i left again that i realized how much i do miss them when i'm away. they are all such wonderful and beautiful people, inside and out.

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this past week i saw quite a few movies, but my favorite was steven spielberg's lincoln. it was the best movie i've seen this year. daniel day-lewis' performance as abraham lincoln was one of the greatest i've ever seen. he is one of my favorite actors, especially since his film, there will be blood. this is partly off topic, but his acceptance speeches for his performance in there will be blood are still some of my favorites. i have a thing with actors and their acceptance speeches. for instance, christopher plummer had the best acceptance speeches of the past awards season in my opinion. i love lincoln not only for it's phenomenal casting, but also because it's cinematography was so great. the silhouette shots of lewis were my favorite. it's movies like this that make me excited about aspiring to be a filmmaker. i hope to one day make films that are loved just as i love this movie. if you have not seen lincoln, i highly recommend going to see it. you will not be disappointed.

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i'm off to finish my studio work . hope your week is lovely 

xx

austin texas

so this past weekend was super fun. i went to austin to visit with some high school friends and it was so lovely to catch up with them. i've been to austin once or twice but we did lots of tourist-like stuff so i got the full austin effect this time. we went to dinner at the restaurant called oasis and it overlooked lake travis. the drive to oasis was really curvy and through the mountains/hills. it reminded me of the family drives to our old lake house years ago. .. i am suddenly missing that place now .. anyways the food was so yummy and there was a fireplace and a christmas tree so we got our take of awkward christmas photos. we spent lots of time on south congress and we walked through the bizarre (that's the name of it i think). it was full of street-like vendors and some of the stuff was really cool. lots of homemade jewelry, leather bags, and fun trinkets. i got some neat austin coasters and i am so in love with them. i personally think they're too awesome to use as coasters, so i might keep them on my desk for decoration :). we also walked through an antique bookstore and a huge costume boutique which was super fun. if you are ever in austin i highly recommend eating at hopdoddy because it is the tastiest burger joint ever. oh and i hear their milkshakes are great too, but i always forget to get one when i go! my friends took me to a lot of the picture spots in austin which was probably the best part. i'm a sucker for a fun/cool picture. and leave it to the capital to have the prettiest murals and wall art. love it! we also snuck inside the hotel that ryan gosling is apparently staying at while he is filming his movie. well we didn't really sneak in because the gate was wide open and it looked incredibly inviting. unfortunately he wasn't there, but there was a 'i lost my boyfriend, ryan gosling' sign right outside the hotel. so funny. i also experienced my first ever real rock concert. it was so awesome. the band, bright lights social hour, was so rock and roll, it was crazy. apparently they opened for aerosmith, woah. i will honestly be shocked if they don't make it big one day. i also watched another local band perform. they go by the name of wild child and their song real estate is currently on replay. it is one of my new favorite songs. you should look it up, right now. .. i love weekends when i can leave where i am and explore a city with people i love.

hope you all have a lovely thanksgiving break .. cheers